How Jerry West impacted the NBA beyond his extensive resume
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina writes about the impact Jerry West had on the NBA and basketball in California after his passing.
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1. How Jerry West impacted the NBA beyond his extensive resume
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina writes about the impact Jerry West had on the NBA and basketball in California after his passing.
The phone call always started the same. Though the caller ID and his distinguishable voice already provided the answer, the NBA’s most accomplished player and executive still identified himself.
“Mark, this is Jerry West.”
The phone call then veered in different directions, depending on the topic or his mood.
Sometimes, West made me laugh with his unfiltered opinions on nearly any NBA topic, team or player . Sometimes, West made me feel inspired when he talked about his accomplished career both as an NBA player and an executive.
Sometimes, West made me tear up when he reflected on his personal losses, including his brother that died in the Korean War (David) and his favorite former teammate that passed away in 2021 (Elgin Baylor). Sometimes, West directly declined to comment on the topic at hand before respectfully wishing me well.
2. The Sporting Tribune’s 2024 MLB Mock Draft 1.0
The Sporting Tribune's Taylor Blake Ward gives his first version of the MLB Mock Draft.
Many ask why I wait until June to start writing mock drafts -- which is a pretty reasonable question. To keep it simple, there just isn't enough information about club's real interest in players until around this point in the draft, which is evidently later in the calendar than in years prior due to the draft date.
The rumor mill can start as early as it wants to and it's up to whomever will listen to the rumors as to how much they'll believe what they're told or hear. Though it remains a constant cycle of information (and misinformation), we are in the late stages of the grapevine chatter and getting into more concrete material. That comes with the caveat that it is still scuttlebutt, which doesn't merit fact.
Super Regionals are over and teams destined for Omaha have been decided. For the youngsters, they're sporting caps and gowns as opposed to ballcaps and stirrups. Most players have seen their seasons conclude with a few exceptions, whether on the collegiate or prep side, while some will head off to wood bat leagues before the draft.
3. Is Trevor Zegras Staying in Anaheim?
Trade rumors about the Ducks star are routinely rampant, but something feels different this time, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Danny Evans.
It’s Trevor Zegras trade rumor season again, but this time the rumors are quite a bit more ferocious. The following tweets were written Monday morning by a Montreal-based analyst for TSN, the Canadian sister station to ESPN.
The message here is not merely that this fan doesn’t want his precious Montreal Canadiens to trade either of their top prospects for Zegras; it’s that Zegras isn’t very good. He doesn’t “have what it takes.”
This is, of course, utter nonsense. We could present the statistics and video evidence that suffocate these ignorant and entirely biased claims, but why bother? Any discussion that begins with a failure to acknowledge Zegras’ remarkable gifts is a non-starter. There is no point in formulating a viable argument against some so blinded by his bias.
Still, there have been opportunities for Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek to stomp out the incessant Zegras trade rumors, most notably last week when he was asked about them by Pierre LeBrun. Verbeek declined to answer any such questions and his silence is telling. Given his tendency to sign and draft big, powerful hockey players like Cutter Gauthier (six-foot-two, 189), Leo Carlsson (six-three, 194), and Sam Colangelo (six-two, 205), Zegras’ six-foot, 185-pound frame is an outlier.
Verbeek is constructing a team he expects to be very difficult to play against and Zegras, while incredibly skilled, literally doesn’t fit the mold of the aforementioned Ducks. Does Verbeek’s preferred player profile mean a smaller speedster like Zegras can’t coexist? Only Verbeek knows that answer, and he’s not telling.
4. Critical baserunning error dooms Dodgers
The Dodgers come one play away from tying game in 9th as Texas survives late rally, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Grant Mona.
The Dodgers had the game come down to the final play at the plate, but ultimately a lack of offense proved to be the difference in the 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.
Walker Buehler looked to be cruising through five innings, but a Corey Seager three run blast in that fifth was all the Rangers needed to defeat the Dodgers.
Buehler went five innings and was not helped out by his defense, as newcomer Cavan Biggio made a critical error to extend the inning and allow Seager to drive in all three runs on his blast deep in the right field seats.
The Rangers actually out-hit the Dodgers on Wednesday night 8-7, but the late rally was the killer. Nobody had a multi-hit game for Los Angeles and they still came within a single throw to the plate to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth.
5. Angels bounce back against Diamondbacks behind Soriano’s strong start
The Angels bounced back in a big way, collecting 14 hits and putting up eight or more runs for the second time in the last three games, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Holdenn Graff.
Starter Jose Soriano dazzled on the mound while the Angels’ offense jumped into action early to help earn an 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Wednesday night.
Soriano was elite for most of the evening and even managed to pitch into the ninth inning before being pulled. He provided his deepest start of the season, finishing with eight innings and allowing five hits. The hard-throwing righty improved to 4-5 behind his second straight win.
He has now allowed just three earned runs across 14 total innings in June so far. Thanks to some solid defense behind him, he was able to negate early traffic on the bases and deliver a big-time start for the Angels.
The Los Angeles lineup was clicking on all cylinders. They were aggressive early, plating seven of their eight runs within the first four innings. Jo Adell and Zach Neto each blasted homers to help the Angels pad their lead. The team has now put up at least 11 hits in each of their last three games, going 2-1 in that span.
Neto and Nolan Schanuel each collected three hits, combining for six of the team’s 14. Matt Thais was the only starter for Los Angeles who did not manage to record a hit in the contest.
6. Merrill’s walk-off homer secures Padres’ first series sweep
Jackson Merrill blasted a solo home run in the ninth inning Wednesday and the Padres pulled out a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Daniel Zhevel.
Another day, another walk-off and it came just at the right time, giving the Padres their first series sweep of the season.
Jackson Merrill blasted a solo home run in the ninth inning Wednesday afternoon and the Padres pulled out a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics at Petco Park – a day after Kyle Higashioka’s walk-off blast.
Merrill, who homered to center in the fifth, turned on the first pitch he saw from A’s reliever Mason Miller and sent it 369 feet to the Petco Porch in right field.
Padres right-hander Michael King pitched five innings and struck out 12 A’s, tying the San Diego record strikeouts in five innings. Wandy Peralta relieved King in the sixth, allowing two runners to score that were put on by King, and an additional run of his own.
Then after missing Tuesday because of illness, Jeremiah Estrada gave up a double to A’s second baseman Zack Gelof and put the A’s up 4-2 in the top of the eighth inning.
Donovan Solano opened the scoring his solo homer in the second off A’s left-handed starter Hogan Harris. He tied the game in the eighth when he launched his second homer of the game to left-center off A’s reliever Lucas Ecreg.
7. Video of the Day
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8. Ticket Time
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game Tuesday:
7:10 p.m. – Rangers at Dodgers – $51
9. On the Air
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region Tuesday:
6:30 p.m. – Angels at Diamondbacks – Bally Sports
7:00 p.m. – Aces at Mercury – Prime Video
7:10 p.m. – Rangers at Dodgers – SportsNet LA
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.
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